Wallabies defeat France in Test opener

Sidelined Wallabies lock Sam Carter has vowed to force his way back into the the Test arena after an ankle injury cruelly ended his immediate international ambitions.

Carter also backed the Brumbies to secure their place in the Super Rugby finals, despite a double injury blow following the Wallabies' costly Test win against France.

Carter is targeting a comeback for the Brumbies' clash against the Western Force on July 11, while Wallabies captain Stephen Moore had a knee reconstruction on Monday and will miss nine months.

Gutted: Stephen Moore leaves the field on Saturday with a crippling knee injury. Photo: Getty Images

Moore, also the Brumbies' hooker, will use the impending birth of his second child to offset the devastation of a season-ending knee injury that happened just minutes into his first Test as Australia's captain.

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Carter played 73 minutes of his Test debut with an ankle syndesmosis injury and will spend the next two weeks in a boot. The 24-year-old second-rower was outstanding in his first Wallabies appearance, bravely pushing through pain despite injuring his ankle in the seventh minute, to earn high praise from coach Ewen McKenzie.

"It is a bit bitter-sweet, but in the context of things, with Stephen Moore's injury, I know it could be a lot worse," Carter said. "It's probably been the longest week of my life ... my ankle was twisted in the wrong direction. I definitely wasn't going off eight minutes into the first Test, it took me so long to get there that there was no way they'd get me off. I'll do everything I can to get back there."

The Brumbies started training at their $16.5 million University of Canberra facility on Monday knowing they will have to prepare to be without Moore for the rest of the year and Carter for at least a month.

Moore was elevated to the Wallabies' captaincy duties last week after 91 Tests in nine years. But just five minutes into his on-field tenure, disaster struck when he ruptured his anterior cruciate and medial ligaments, requiring a knee reconstruction in Brisbane and a nine-month recovery.

Michael Hooper was announced as Moore's Test captaincy replacement on Monday, with Moore endorsing Hooper as "a class act on and off the field".

Moore is refusing to dwell on the missed opportunity, despite having to sit out of the Brumbies' Super Rugby finals campaign and the Wallabies build-up to next year's World Cup. Moore and his wife, Courtney, are expecting another child soon.

"There's a lot of upside, I'll get to spend more time with my family and I've got the birth of my second child in August," Moore said on ABC Grandstand. "I've got to work hard in my rehabilitation and do everything right to put myself in the frame with the Brumbies next year.

"I try to keep things positive and not think about the negatives too much. While it's disappointing to miss the Test season and the rest of the Brumbies', there's a lot to be thankful for."

The Brumbies have two games left in the regular season and need to win both to ensure they play finals rugby for the second year in a row. They play the Waratahs on June 28 and then finish their season against the Force on July 11.

"We can pull together and it makes us even more unified going into the match against the Waratahs," Carter said. "We've definitely got the depth and we showed that at the start of the season ... the quality is definitely in the group."

"It's been a roller-coaster week, you go through all the highs of playing your first Test as captain and running out there in front of a big crowd ... but I've put it all in perspective, it could be a lot worse. " Moore said.